Fukushima government requested us to design a community center and 9 units of houses on L shaped land for people suffering from the great earthquake in 2011. But making 9 houses would make the community center difficult to access. Our solution was to convert 1 unit and used its land as an access point and multifunctional open space for this community and neighborhood. In order to create pleasant environment, we added semi-outdoor space ‘community porch’ which not effected the government’s area requirements of houses. Residents can use it to express their identity and communicate with others.
‘Meguro Architecture Laboratory’ was established by Mitsuru Hirai and Sayu Yamaguchi in 2009. We have widely provided interdisciplinary design services ranging from large to small scales. To create better living culture, ‘how our design communicate to its surroundings’ is a key in our projects.